Sanitary water-closet chair and flush-tank.



No- 799,418. PATENTED SEPT. 12, 1905. W. D. THOMPSON & G. F. SHBHAN.

SANITARY WATER CLOSET CHAIR. AND FLUSH TANK;

APPLICATION FILED mus, 1905.

W iaaea UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM D. THOMPSON AND CHRISTOPHER F. SHEHAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SANITARY WATER-CLOSET CHAIR AND FLUSH-TANK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1905.

Application filed May 28, 1905. Serial No. 261,826.

To ctZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, WILLIAM D. THOMPSON and CHRISTOPHER F. SHEHAN, citizens of the United States, and residents of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanitary VVater-Closet Chairs and Flush- Tanks; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a novel combined cabinet and seat for water-closets, designed more especially for use with low-down closets, wherein the flush-tank is located at or near the level of the closet-bowl; and the invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Among the objects of our invention is to provide a novel cabinet and chair-seat of such construction as to afford a comfortable and roomy seat in the bath-room (the usual location of such closets) for a person preparing for or coming from the bath and which, in addition to the function above noted, is of such construction and arrangement as to entirely conceal the closet and its flushing accessories and present a neat and attractive appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction in such a cabinet that receives, conceals, and supports the flush-tank and, further, of such construction that the cabinet receives the entire weight of a person using the closet, thereby avoiding racking of the closet connection with the floor or other support and also racking of the hinge connection of the seat-cover.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of our improved water-closet cabinet and seat, taken on line 1 1 of Fig. 2, showing the bowl in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken in a plane at right angles to the section shown in Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, A designates a closet-bowl of conventional form, which is supported on the floor of the apartment containing the same, usually a bath-room, and B designates as a whole our improved cabinet and seat designed to cover and conceal the closet-bowl when not in use and constructed to provide a seat of ample dimensions to permit a person to comfortably use the same when preparing for or leaving the bath. The said cabinet is supported on the floor independently of the closet-bowl and comprises side walls B B, a front wall B an open seat Z), hinged to and supported on the cabinet above the bowl, and a lid or cover 6, also hinged to the cabinet and adapted when closed upon the seat I) to constitute a chair or seat of ample dimensions upon which a person may comfortably sit.

B designates as a whole the hollow back portion of the cabinet, which incloses a flushtank C. Said back portion comprises a front inclined Wall 6 a top wall 6 and side walls 6*, the latter constituting integral extensions, as herein shown, of the side wall B. The swinging closet-seat b is connected by means of hinges b with a horizontal strip 6 extending transversely between the side walls and supported on horizontal cleats 5 attached to the inner faces of said side walls. Said open seat Z) fits between side filling-strips 5 I2 extending forwardly from the transverse bar or strip 7) and attached to the side walls or to the cleats 6 which the strips 6 overlie. The closet-seat is supported at its front side upon the front vertical wall or riser B The swinging lid 7), which closes the open closet-seat and which when itself closed constitutes the seat portion of the cabinet-like chair structure, is connected by hinges 6 to the lower margin of the front inclined Wall 6 of the hollow back, and said lid when closed overlies the open closet-seat and at its side margins overlies the filling-strips 5 Fig. 2. Fillingstrips 6 are located between the side margins of the swinging lid 6 and the side Walls B and are flush at their upper faces with the upper face of said lid, whereby is constituted a continuous chair-seat when the lid Z) is closed down. The seat 6 and lid 6' are shown in their open positions in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

It will be observed that the closet-seat and the lid or the chair-seat of the cabinet are supported wholly on the cabinet or chair structure. The closet-seat fits closely about the upper margin of the closet-bowl, but without actual contact therewith, and the lid or chairseat fits flat upon the closet-seat, thereby providing an efficient closure for the closet-bowl when the swinging seat and lid are closed.

At the same time the weight of a person occupying the closet-seat or chair-seat is borne by the chair or cabinet structure and the closet bowl is relieved'entirely from such weight.

The flush-tank C may be made separate from or built as a part of the hollow back B The latter Construction is herein shown. The bottom wall of the tank is supported on hori- Zontal bars or blocksD D, which are attached to the side walls B, and the front wall of the tank is the front wall 6 of the hollow back. Inasmuch as the automatic flushing mechanism constitutes no part of our invention, the same is for the sake of clearness omitted. When the rear side of the cabinet is located close or adjacent to the wall of the apartment, the rear side of the cabinet need not be closed.

7 The construction herein shown, however, ad-

. suitably-finished back wall. If the hollow back of the cabinet is not closed at itsrear side, one or more cross-bars F preferably extend across the same and are attached at their ends to the side walls in a manner to impart rigidity to the structure as a whole. The filling-pipe extends upwardly through the floor of the apartment containing the closet and enters the tank through the bottom wall thereof to deliver water thereto through the usual float-controlled valve. (Not shown.) The flush-pipe F leads from the tank to the closet in any suitable or familiar manner, depending upon the type of closet-bowl. The cabinet is so constructed as to permit one or more of its sides to be removed in order to facilitate the connections of the pipes E and F when'the cabinet is in place.

In order to give the cabinet described the full functions and uses of a seat or chair when the cover t is in its closed position, the side walls of the bow] are preferably extended upwardly above said cover or seat to constitute chair-arms B, constructed or finished in accordance with any suitable design.

The cabinet may be made of any suitable material, as wood, porcelain, enameled pressed steel, or the like. In any eventit is desirable that the front wall or riser B shall be made of a non-absorbent material, such as enameled metal, inasmuch as it is to a greater extentthan the other walls exposed to liqui ds,the absorption of which tends to deteriorate said wall or riser. The cabinet or chair structure is held on the floor in permanent relation to the closet-bowl by any suitable means-as, for

instance, by'means of angle-bars G G, attached to the floor and the side walls of the structure.

The walls of the cabinet are provided at their lower margins with suitable ventilatingopenings, as the openings B. (Shown more particularly in Fig. 1.) Air passes upwardly through said ventilating-openings B and escapes around the fluslrtank C to the open side of the hollow back in case said back be open, as herein shown. When said hollow back is closed at its rear side, other suitable ventilating apertures or openings will be provided to permit air to freely circulate around the closet and through the hollow wall of the chair or cabinet.

The cabinet structure herein shown is ca pable of being made very attractive and neat and completely conceals the bowl, while at the same time affording a comfortable and comniodious seat for a person desiring to use the same in the manner set forth.

Weclaim as our invention- 1. The combination with a closet-bowl, of a combinedcabinet and chair comprising a part which incloses said bowl, and a hollow back rising therefrom, a hinged closet-seat supported on said cabinet above and independently of the bowl, a lid overlying said seat and hinged to said cabinet in a manner to be thrown upwa'rdlyto expose the closet-seat, said lid constituting, when in its lower or closed position, the chair-seat of the cabinet, and a flush-tank contained within and supported by said hollow back.

2. The combination with a closet-bowl, of a combined cabinet and chair comprising a part which incloses said bowl, and a hollow back rising therefrom, a hinged closet-seat supported on said cabinet above and independently of the bowl, a lid overlying said seat'and hinged to said cabinet in a manner to be thrown upwardly to expose the closet-seat, said lid constituting, when in its lower or closed position, the chair-seat of the cabinet, and a flush-tank contained within and supported by said hollow back, said cabinet structure being provided at its lower margins with ventilating-openings to permit ventilation around the closet-bowl.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention we affix our signatures, in presence of two witnesses, this 19th day of May, A. D. 1905.

WILLIAM D. THOMPSON. CHRISTOPHER F. SHEHAN.

Witnessesr WILLIAM L. HALL, G. B. WILKINs. 

